Be E-Successful With E-Newsletters - Part 2 - March 2003
By Kelly Embleton

Welcome to Part 2 of Be E-Successful with E-Newsletters. Now that you know how to get subscribers, how and when to send your newsletter, it is time to learn about the most important issues about creating and sending your newsletter - ways to make sure your newsletter is read, get the readers to your site, generate sales and more.

Opt-in Only
Make sure that your newsletter only goes to opt-in subscribers. Provide an easy way for people to subscribe and also provide a description and benefits about your newsletter. Adding e-mail addresses to your list without permission and sending your newsletter to people who didn't ask for it is spamming.

Easy Unsubscribe
Unsubscribing to your newsletter should be as easy as subscribing to it. If people don't want to receive your newsletter any longer they should be able to visit your site and easily unsubscribe or provide a direct link at the bottom of your newsletter that will direct them to the section of your site where they can do so.

85% / 15%
Your subscribers will not want to read your newsletter if it is filled only with product promotions and advertising. 85% of your newsletter should be helpful, unique and useful information for your readers, this will keep them subscribed and looking forward to the next newsletter. Use the other 15% of your newsletter to let your readers know about your products, services and special offers.

Subject Matters
The subject of your emailed newsletter is very important. The subject usually determines weather or not the person will open the mail or delete it. The subject should: be eight words or less, grab attention, create curiosity, be descriptive and compelling.

Keep it Short
Keep your letter fairly short, newsletters are usually no more than three pages. If you find that each article or piece of information is getting to be more than a few lines or two paragraphs, provide the reader with important and valued info and a link to your site to get the rest. Stick to brief tips and right-to-the-point information. I would also suggest creating a table of contents and placing it at the beginning of the newsletter so readers know what the newsletter contains and how long it is … some people prefer to read the newsletter on screen while others like to print the newsletter out.

All Links Lead Back to Your Site
One of the main purposes of creating and sending your newsletter is to create traffic on your site and generate sales. In order to do this you must provide links in your newsletter to your Web site, if you mention your products, provide links to those specific pages and remember to always provide ways the readers can contact you about your company, product and services.

Test, Test, Test
When you have completed your newsletter and are ready to send it out, remember to test it first. Because you don't know what kind of e-mail browser your subscribers will be viewing your newsletter in you should send your newsletter in text format (rather then HTML), each e-mail system handles text wrapping, formatting and hyperlinks differently. Send the newsletter to yourself first. Make sure the newsletter reads well, spelling is correct and all links work properly. Once you are completely satisfied with the newsletter, send it out to your opt-in subscribers.

If you follow the instructions mentioned in Be E-Successful with E-Newsletters Parts 1 & 2, I'm sure your readers will be pleased with your newsletter and you will be pleased with the increase in business!

Resources

• MapleMusic is a Web site that offers a virtual home where Canadian musicians, and fans of Canadian music converge. MapleMusic features info on concerts, artists, news and more. Visit the MapleMusic Web site at www.maplemusic.com. (Not to be confused with record label www.maplemusic.ca.).

• The National Library of Canada invites you to visit the Virtual Gramophone, a multimedia Web site devoted to the first half-century of recorded sound in Canada. Visit this very interesting site at www.nlc-bnc.ca/gramophone.

• Canada's Vintage Guitar Show is being held on June 7 & 8, 2003 in Toronto. Find out about booth sales, vendors, contact info, past shows and more at www.vintageguitarshow.com.

• IndieBandManager 3.0 is database software for music folks on Macintosh or Windows PCs. This software will help you look more professional, reach more fans, get more press, book better gigs, sell more CDs, be more organized, and ultimately perform and enjoy more music. For more information visit their Web site at www.indiebandmanager.com.

• North By Northeast (NXNE) 2003 is taking place in Toronto on June 5-7. Visit the NXNE site at www.nxne.com and find out info on the show, media, bands, hotels and more.

• Viralata.com is a new Internet-based project that aims to create international collaborations among musicians. Artists from different nations play together on original songs in various styles and the final product is added to the site's archive. Check it out at www.viralata.com.

• Canconrox and CanadianBands have merged to become your online source to the Canadian Music Scene. The site, www.canadianbands.com features Canadian bands/musicians biographies, discographies, song lyrics, interviews and more.

• WebAttack, located at www.webattack.com, features more than 5000 freeware and shareware downloads including Internet tools, system tools, Web developer tools and more. If you are searching for any of these mentioned, stop searching, this is the site to visit.

• Music Books Plus is your best source on the Net for music and audio books, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, audio cassettes, software, posters, sound effects and apparel. Music Books Plus offers over 5,000 titles on the areas of: Music Business, Instrument Instruction, Audio & Video Production, Recording, Lighting and much more. To add to that, they also have new titles regularly, monthly specials, free monthly e-newsletters, free downloadable updates and flyers. Stop by today at www.musicbooksplus.com.